Aspects of the disclosure relate to food containers with multiple compartments for housing different portions of a meal. Food containers such as disposable food trays for microwavable meals or carry outs, are prevalent in the market. Typically, each compartment of a food container is purposed to house a different portion of a meal, such as a salad, a main course, and a dessert. Following the housing of these meal portions in their respective compartments, the open top portion of the food container may then be closed, such via a cover or lid for carry outs, or sealed, such as via a thermoplastic material, for microwavable meals.
A problem with the forgoing approach is that different portions of a meal are often intended or desired to be consumed at different temperatures, For example, the salad portion may be most desirably served at room temperature, while the main course served hot, and the dessert at cold temperatures. Currently, all three portions are placed in a single integrally formed tray which results in heating, such as in a microwave, of the entire tray to one temperature, which may not be desirable for some or all of the different portions of the meal.
To avert the above, different portions of a meal may first have to be manually transferred from the container to another medium, such as a plate, in an often cumbersome process. In addition, for sealed meals, such approach necessitates breaking of the seal for the entire tray, resulting in a loss of protection offered by the seal, such as for preserving freshness or reducing freezer frost, for the portions desired to be consumed at a later time, or date.
Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure address these problems, both individually and collectively.